Imperial Treasure-Chapter 751 - 459 Ode, old!_2

Cao Qijun: Damn it, son, do you need to have such low defenses! It’s so embarrassing!

Butler: It’s really not the first time, madam.

In the United Kingdom, the Cao Family also owns a significant amount of property. Cao Yu had official business to attend to, hence he couldn’t join them in going out for shopping. Cao Ling, who would normally be excellent at this, had found an excuse to slip away. Sui Yi didn’t doubt that this person was off investigating something...

So it ended up being Sui Yi and three others accompanying the Duchess and the Duke’s Son for a shopping spree.

British folks always have a peculiar sentiment towards old items, just as the people of old Beijing are fervent and fond of antiques. In London, this trend of vintage and retro fascination is also enduring, and even the nobility, who are illustrious for their respect for history and who are themselves living history, regard it as an activity matching upscale tastes and fitting for their collection value.

In London’s streets, there’s an antique or old curio shop every few steps. Here, the craft market is more mesmerizing than Aladdin’s treasure, with handicrafts being a part of people’s lives.

However, the place Sui Yi and the others visited was not one of these antique shops on London streets, nor was it traditional shopping paradises like Oxford Street and Harrods Department Store, but a place not well-known to the general public.

The place was known as Ode.

This is a transliteration; it actually means "old," conveying the sense of antiquity. This antique market, hidden deep within the prime and expensive core of London, is actually specially set up for high-spenders around the world, which can be deduced from the line of luxury cars parked at the square.

Among them, some are notable ladies and madams who come and go with bodyguards... and there are rich and famous tourists from all over, too.

However, Sui Yi had a low level of recognition for these people, categorizing them all simply as black, white, and Asian...

Junshi Titan would not allow the reigning Family Head and the next heir to go out alone, and there were some disguised bodyguards from two following cars who spread out amidst the crowd, constantly monitoring their safety.

Anyway, it appeared to be just Sui Yi and the three of them out shopping with the mother and her son, along with the old butler...

"Xius, I feel as though this place has been refurbished again; there are quite some noticeable changes,"

"Madam, you haven’t been here in almost three months. Since the Chinese New Year is approaching, all the major luxury stores around the world are now promoting the Chinese style!"

In front of and even inside the luxurious marketplaces and department stores, the prominent Chinese style is everywhere, with Chinese knots and the like being quite common, and people dressed in panda costumes performing... Many well-dressed ladies in expensive fur coats are having a good time with their children, making the scene very lively.

For this, the few Chinese people naturally felt a bit of pleasure, especially the Duchess, who was far from home. When Chark saw the panda, he was already mesmerized, but to maintain the Duke’s Son’s dignity, he couldn’t shamelessly run after the person in the panda costume while licking cotton candy like those children...

Alright, two minutes later, he was walking through the grand premises of Ode marketplace holding strawberry-flavored cotton candy.

He licked it gracefully.

Sui Yi could see a dazzling array of Chinese antiques as well as some ancient British crafts, along with Egyptian gold jewelry and the like.

Most wealthy collectors have a broad range of interests, but they always have their preferences. For instance, Cao Qijun had been extremely fond of collecting seals since her youth and favored only this one type, while the rest were just so-so. Following the host’s lead, Sui Yi and the three others followed Cao Qijun to the seal section and were met with an array of seals.

"Oh boy, I was just thinking these exports couldn’t compare to the variety and quality we have back in China, but these goods are all quite excellent~"

Fatty Gao, whose expertise was already not low and had been cultivated for a while by Pang Shang and Sui Yi, saw his professional level skyrocket. Now, holding a seal, he asked Sui Yi, "Boss, this is a Chicken Bloodstone Seal, isn’t it? The color is superb..."

After glancing at the seal, Sui Yi nodded. However, it was Cao Qijun who laughed, "This should be a Changhua Chicken-Blood Stone from the Pavilion of the Purple Ridge, right?"

It seemed that the owner of Red Pavilion Seal Shop recognized Cao Qijun and immediately came forward to say, "Duchess, you have a keen eye. This is one of the batch of Chicken Blood Stones that just arrived... This young man made a mistake, though. Any goods that are exported can’t be of too low quality; otherwise, wouldn’t it be a loss of face for us Chinese?"

By the way, the owner of Red Pavilion Seal Shop is Chinese, and Cao Qijun had long been a regular customer, hence their closeness. Seeing Cao Qijun bring a few Chinese faces with her, the owner naturally had some thoughts in mind.

With that statement, doesn’t it just pull at the heartstrings?

We, as Chinese people... can’t we support a fellow countryman’s business?

Fatty Gao, who was a Jianghu wanderer, was quite thrilled to suddenly encounter a fellow countryman with a Hunan accent in such a high-end place and immediately went over to warmly engage in conversation...

As for the transaction, his boss was very wealthy; if there were truly valuable goods, why would he not buy them?

Sui Yi was only moderately interested in seals, but she did indeed like naturally occurring curios. However, the blood-red color of Chicken Blood Stone, despite being favored by many Chinese, was not to her liking.

"Old Qu, do you have other items? These don’t seem very good," Cao Qijun, who herself had a collection of no less than three hundred seals including many fine pieces, had already cultivated exceedingly discerning tastes—so how could she be satisfied with these goods...

Upon hearing this, Qu Long’s face soured with a bitter smile, "Respected Duchess, most of the good items here have made their way into your pockets already. When have I not brought the best first for your consideration? However, a few days ago, some customers visited, and their eye for quality was terrifying, and they had an extreme approach, almost as if they would smash up my store if I didn’t produce good items. I had no choice but to take out the Full-blooded Cock’s Comb Seal..." (To be continued. If you like this work, I welcome you to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)